The Ministry of Legal Affairs’ land regularisation exercise will be accelerated this year with some hundreds of land titles slated to be distributed, providing long-awaited home ownership to residents in several squatting areas.
Approximately $424 million was approved for the project and other initiatives on Monday, as the Parliamentary Committee of Supply scrutinised the $1.6 billion budgetary allocation for the ministry.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall SC disclosed that within the next month, over 250 transports will be distributed to residents of Walton Hall on the Essequibo Coast.
He reminded, “We have delivered over 250 titles at Cotton Tree and we have 1000 more in the pipeline for about four or five villages on the West Coast of Berbice. We are also working with the Ministry of Housing to deliver 450 titles at Anne’s Grove on the East Coast of Demerara.”
The Land Regularisation programme is executed in conjunction with the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority, the Central Housing and Planning Authority and the Land Registry.
“We have successfully undertaken and delivered to hundreds of families titles and transports for lands they have been occupying for decades,” the minister noted.
These budgetary funds also provide for work to advance on the establishment of a Law School in Guyana.
The AG reminded that some seven acres of land on the University of Guyana campus at Turkeyen have been identified, and a preliminary feasibility report for this project submitted.
The Council for Legal Education (CLE) has established a high-level subcommittee to work alongside the government on this project.
Minister Nandlall said that this sub-committee has agreed on several guidelines for the submission of the entire feasibility study for its consideration.
The Council will consider this study at its September meeting.
“This [allocation] also covers the project of the revised laws of Guyana and the law reports,” the AG further disaggregated.
It also provides for the advancement of Anti-Money Laundering, Countering the Terrorism of Financing activities, which aim to ensure that Guyana’s anti-money laundering framework remains robust and consistent with international regulations. (Department of Public Information)
